Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has triggered a price war at the pumps by slashing 2p per litre off petrol and diesel following a fall in oil prices over the last fortnight.
It’s believed to be the first time in more than 10 years that Sainsbury’s has dropped prices ahead of Tesco, Morrisons or Asda – and now rivals are playing catchup as Tesco and Morrisons announce they’ll also slash 2p per litre off their fuel, while Asda drops prices by 1p.
“This is great news for motorists and we hope it will spark a fuel cut frenzy on forecourts across the country,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams. “Supermarkets are proving that they are prepared to react to falling wholesale prices by passing on the benefit to families just ahead of the busy summer holiday season.
“The oil price, the biggest variable affecting UK fuel prices, is now at its lowest level in more than six months. This is due to increased oil output from the United States, which has been counteracting the production cut introduced some months ago by OPEC and other countries in a bid to try to boost the oil price. The pound has also gained against the dollar lately – meaning the outlook for lower priced fuel over the weeks ahead is positive.”
Announcing that Sainsbury’s would be dropping the cost of fuel at its 309 forecourts across the UK, Sainsbury’s fuel buying manager Izzy Hexter said: “We hope this will bring a little bit of sunshine to millions of motorists braving the rain over the next few days.
“At Sainsbury’s we always aim to provide our customers with fantastic prices and great quality across every one of our products and services, so we hope this price drop will help them keep costs down over the summer – whatever the weather.”
Average prices across the UK hit 114.9p per litre for petrol yesterday, compared to 115.7p for diesel.
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